


Mistakes Were Made

by Bookshido



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: ATO - Freeform, F/M, Five Years Later, Fun Times at College, Gen, Mountain Dew, Oops, Princeton University, drink responsibly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 18:32:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13082826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookshido/pseuds/Bookshido
Summary: Jeremy's life has been going great, but the ATO formal is going to change that.Author's Note: I am still considering if I should expand on this story with further chapters. Please comment with your opinion on the subject.





	Mistakes Were Made

It had been five years since the SQUIP incident. That's what the situation had been called in the local news. To say the least, Jeremy hadn't had any issues being noticed following that mess. Luckily, Christine and Michael were by his side to help keep Jeremy moving forward safely and with as little mental stress as possible. The SQUIP's voice, which had been already faded after the battle at the play, had faded for good almost two years prior. It had been completely silent, leaving the door open for Jeremy to flourish. Michael was right: guys like them  _ were _ cool in college. He'd never had more friends, and even at Princeton, he and Michael were as close as can be. He and Christine were so happy that Jeremy had been thinking further than graduation, all the way to the suburbs and 2.5 kids and the white picket fence. Everything was just perfect. 

Jeremy would have been lying if he said that he hadn't continued to follow some of the advice the SQUIP had given him. Confidence truly was the key to getting what you wanted. The situation had been bad, but with his new outlook on life, he was finding the good in it. The whole mess had brought him and Christine together. It had made him and Michael's friendship stronger. And it had given him the tools to shine in front of Ivy League recruiters at science fairs and put the best of himself forward. It's advice had earned him a full ride into Princeton's College of Sciences and on the fast track to graduation. 

Christine was out there on the dance floor with her sorority sisters, jamming it up. Jeremy had never gotten involved in Greek life; he didn't like the whole 'pay us and we'll be your friend' thing. Hit a little too close to home for his liking. But it was important to Christine, so here he was. On the edge of the biggest party of the fall, sipping legally on some kind of mixed drink and chatting with Michael, who had gotten approved . 

"Look, if you're gonna ask her, do it already," Michael said, taking another hit off his joint and sighing. "Girls like Christine don't come around that often. Especially ones that would put up with your shit after the whole incident."

"Man, I know," Jeremy replied, sighing as well. "I just... I don't know when it's gonna be right. I have the ring and her dad's blessing and everything, but there's never a good time. She's always so busy nowadays and I'm getting busy too with the program and-"

"Cool it," Michael ordered, placing his hand on his shoulder. "You've got enough shit to deal with without stressing yourself out over this. Just get up the balls and do it. Look, how about I cut you a deal."

"What is it?" he asked suspiciously. 

"If you ask Christine to marry you," Michael said, pausing to take a hit dramatically. "Then I'll ask Alex."

"You wouldn't," Jeremy scoffed, taking another sip of his drink. 

"I'm ready to, man," Michael said with a shrug. "He's the best damn thing to happen in my life besides you. I'd be stupid not to snatch him up."

Jeremy stared at Michael for a second, and then nodded. 

“Alright, deal,” he agreed, holding out his hand to shake. “But we have to get married either together or with the dates close.”

“Deal,” Michael agreed, shaking his hand firmly. “So, when you gonna do it?”

“I have a dinner reservation with Christine for this weekend,” he suggested, shrugging. “Maybe then. I’ll text you when I do.”

“Sounds good,” Michael agreed, sighing. 

Jeremy nodded to himself and went to take another sip of his drink. The lightness of the cup didn’t set in until he was tipping his head back to try and get the remaining drops stuck in the bottom. 

"Hey, I have to go get a refill,” Jeremy said, patting Michael on the shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

“See ya, man,” Michael said, nodding and turning to the guy next to him to start a conversation. 

Jeremy pushed his way through the crowds, nearly choking the weed smoke. He hadn’t really noticed that the smoke had been creating a layer on the ceiling. He’d only gotten taller after high school and now he was fully stuck in the smoke as he came up over to the ramshackle stand the frat had erected to handle alcohol. People were always lunging over the counter to get refills and new drinks. Finally, he was able to push his way to the front. 

“Hey dude, what can I get ya,” the brother said, leaning forward. 

“The juice, man,” Jeremy replied, raising his voice.  

“We’re out,” the guy explained. 

“What do you have?” Jeremy yelled. 

“I got battle brew,” the guy offered, pulling a bottle of yellowy-green liquid out from under the table. “If you want it?”

“Sure,” he agreed, shoving his cup across to him. 

The guy unscrewed the cap, and he poured a full cup, Jeremy squinted and noticed that it was being housed in an old vodka bottle with a faded and peeling sticker. The brother gave him back the cup and gestured for him to drink. Jeremy complied and took a long drink. It was shockingly sweet and he nearly choked on it before whooping and shaking his head. That was a fucking rush. 

"Hey, man, what's in this," Jeremy asked before taking another swig and sighing happily. "This is delicious."

"Yeah, I know," the fellow brother said, nodding. "It's my battle brew recipe. Vodka, Green Mountain Dew, and a Red Bull."

Jeremy's head whipped around and stared at the guy, who was starting to make his way back towards the dance floor. There was a metallic shriek inside his head and he clutched at his temples, dropping his full cup of brew. There were a few other high shrieks from a small group of Tri-Sigs who had been caught in the splash zone. He looked around with watering eyes, finally locating the small cupboard with a toilet sign on the door. The other party-goers moved at a rate he didn't expect and as he turned to duck inside the open bathroom, his eyes fell on the dance floor, where Christine was dancing with someone. Someone who wasn't him. 

"Target life mate losing interest," a familiar, but monotone voice stated, each word sending bolts of pain through his head.

Jeremy ducked inside fully and slammed the door, locking it shut. He slid down the door as the pain in his skull increased. He couldn't even think about what was happening because of the feeling like his head was splitting open. He was on the floor now, curled up and trying to hold back his noises of pain.

"Calibration in process," the dull emotionless voice stated from inside his head. "Please excuse some mild discomfort."

Jeremy looked around helplessly and grabbed the hand towel, shoving it into his mouth and biting down as he tried to contain his agonized scream. The whirring paused for a second and then the voice spoke again. Jeremy left the towel in his mouth, knowing what was coming next as the pain faded almost completely. 

"Calibration complete. Access procedure initiated."

Jeremy waited with bated breath, tensing up as he waited for the next key words. 

"Discomfort level may increase."

The pain exploded back into being, feeling like his skull was splitting open. Jeremy did fully scream this time and he couldn't fully hear the voice as it spoke again. 

"Updating neural memory," the voice went on, sounding like it was warbling back and forth. "Updating muscle memory. Access procedure complete."

The pain faded to a dull throb and Jeremy pulled the towel out of his mouth, panting heavily and starting to feel light-headed as he worked to control his breathing. His head was dead silent and as he stood to splash some water on his face, he thought that it might not have worked. That the damn thing hadn’t come back. He rubbed at his face a little and leaned on the sink, breathing in and out slowly. It was even worse than the first- He looked up and there was someone, no something in the mirror behind him. Jeremy spun around, practically climbing onto the sink as he held onto it like a life-line.

"Welcome back, Jeremy Heere," the SQUIP greeted, eyes narrow as it chuckled and walked forward. 

Each step made the body pop and snap into lines of code that looked like motherboards and its eyes were mismatched shades of electronic blue. Jeremy starred in mute horror as the  _ thing _ approached him. The SQUIP looked different now; taller, more athletic. It looked more like himself now, but in the way someone looks when they’ve been through hell and back and you see the before and after picture. It was dressed in a suit, like before, but right as Jeremy blinked, he could see ruptures and fissures all across that revealed glistening blue light underneath that flared up with each pulsing step. The longer Jeremy stared at the SQUIP, it looked more solid and real and the fissures seemed to repair themselves. As ever, it looked effortless and confident, all things that Jeremy had been trying to be following the first incident. 

"We've got work to do," the thing said, smirking at him as its voice crackled and popped. 


End file.
